Stomp on Stress

5-second version

Trouble is the crossroad of joy and misery. There is a practical process to choose to stay on the road called joy.

5-minute version

Getting the Best of Stress or Stress Getting the Best of You

The choice is between having a knot in your gut or being confident.

Here are the steps to get the best of stress and be confident.

First accept that stress is created from having a lack of options. Cold without the option of warming up. In danger without the option of safety. Hungry without food. Regret without the ability to make things right. Disappointed without hope. Stress is created from having a lack of options.

Understand that God- knows what you are going through, cares about it, and is powerful enough to do something about it. It makes sense then to talk to God about what is going on and be willing to accept whatever comes of the situation.

Next investigate your options. Do not spend time gathering more information than is absolutely necessary for the next step which is-

Decide which option is best. This is where you take control of the situation. Even if you do not like the option there is comfort in knowing you are doing what is best.

Act on your decision.

Create options to eliminate future stress.

The principle is that a lack of choices leads to stress.

The process is pray, investigate, decide, act and create.

Here is an example-

Greg’s car breaks and he does not have an emergency fund. The apparent lack of options leads Greg to stress. He responds by investigating. This is difficult and stressful because Greg doesn’t know what is wrong with the car and doesn’t even have the money for it to be towed into a shop to receive an estimate.

Greg knows the solution is beyond himself so he asks God to give him some ideas and provide a solution.

Greg investigates by writing down his options-

• Public transportation to work
• Ask friends and family for rides to work
• Ask on social media for a mechanic to help
• Borrow money
• Begin an emergency fund to pay for this repair and any future surprises

Greg decides that he will immediately reach out on social media to find a mechanic and will also contact his coworkers to get a ride into work the next morning. He also realizes that not having an emergency fund is too stressful so he resolves to save twenty dollars a week with the goal of having a thousand dollars in a fund that will only be used for emergencies. It turns out that a friend from work is willing to give Greg a ride and has a neighbor, Sally, who does auto repair work out of her garage. Greg calls Sally who then comes over to look at the car and notices Greg’s guitars. Sally would like her daughter to receive guitar lessons and Sally and Greg strike a deal which allows Greg to have his car fixed and receive extra income to build his emergency fund. A stressful situation turned into a source of joy.

There is always an option to choose from. Some options can be very different from the ones in Greg’s story. For example the choice to-

Be concerned for someone instead of being indifferent.

To pursue relationships with givers instead of takers.

To focus attention on things that can be influenced instead of things that cannot.

To be thankful instead of being fearful.

To be industrious instead of being a victim of circumstances.

To forgive instead of identifying as a victim.

Since we are talking about stomping on stress, check out my series on not getting blindsided. Part 1 is called I Should Have Seen It Coming